Marquette plays Miami on Thursday night with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line. / Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images

by Scott Gleeson and Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

by Scott Gleeson and Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to another session of Bracket Briefing, our attempt to provide you with essential information on the Big Dance - highlighting the Florida Gulf Coasts of basketball world, and forecasting the Ali Farokhmanesh moments before they happen.

Teams in the field: 16

The first word: Finally, after a three-day vacation, the NCAA tournament returns with back-to-back nights of Sweet 16 showdowns that will surely give sports fans enough highlights to call in sick to work tomorrow, while we'll see the sweetest of teams get separated from the elite ones. With four games on tap tonight, a trip to the Elite Eight is only hours away. We've got you covered with a complete guide through the madness.

Back to the madness: An index to help guide you through the madness Thursday night.

For clarity: Games are ranked based on madness potential. Games are rated based on watchability. So, a three-star game means nothing else in your life matters, including the expense report your boss is demanding at work. Two stars means you should put your cellphone on vibrate and you can watch while folding your laundry. One star means your heart will go on if you miss this. (All times Eastern.)

** No. 2 Miami vs. No. 3 Marquette | 7:15 p.m., CBS: Miami will be without rugged forward Reggie Johnson, who will miss this weekend with a knee injury (and possible return for the Final Four, should the Hurricanes advance). That's not a huge loss for Miami's scoring, but it will miss Johnson's toughness against a physical Marquette team. Will Marquette remained focused while rumors swirl around coach Buzz Williams?

Which team wins? Miami.

* No. 6 Arizona vs. No. 2 Ohio State | 7:47 p.m., TBS: Ohio State coach Thad Matta and Arizona coach Sean Miller will put their friendship on hold as each team looks to advance to the West Regional final. The Buckeyes reached the round of 16 thanks to Aaron Craft's buzzer-beater to edge past Iowa State. Meanwhile, Arizona barely broke a sweat in rolling past Belmont and Harvard by a combined 40 points.

Which team wins? Ohio State.

** No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 4 Syracuse | 9:45 p.m., CBS: The clear game of the day â?? befitting the pair's standing as two of the elite programs in college basketball. Syracuse is hot at the right time after a late-season swoon in Big East play. Indiana stands just a notch below Louisville as the tournament's leading contender for the national championship. This is only the second time the Orange and Hoosiers have met in the NCAA tournament. Remember Keith Smart in 1987?

Which team wins? Indiana

*** No. 9 Wichita State vs. No. 13 La Salle | 10:17 p.m., CBS

: One of these two underdogs will meet the winner of Arizona-Ohio State with the chance to reach the Final Four. This game also presents one of the more intriguing matchups of the entire tournament, with La Salle's speed and quickness meeting Wichita State's size and strength. Will the Explorers' three-guard lineup run circles around the Shockers? Or will Wichita State just beat up on La Salle inside?

Which team wins? Wichita State

Tweet that speaks volume:

Florida Gulf Coast coach Andy Enfield is a winner. He's a winner who took his ex-model, future-wife Amanda Marcum Enfield to Taco Bell on their first date. Now Taco Bell wants to party with him.

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50 Most Valuable Players in the Sweet 16: There's no right way to break down the best players who are still playing in the NCAA tournament. Do we go off NBA potential or points per game? That's boring and no fun. When we pick 50 of the most valuable, well, then we're opening debatable topic. Is Kansas' Jeff Withey playing like the best player in the tournament? Sure. Will Russ Smith win Most Outstanding Player of the tourney if Louisville goes all the way as expected? Sure. But best and valuable are two different adjectives. So without further ado, the Sweet 16's most valuable players. Yes, there's 50.

Brett Comer, Florida Gulf Coast: He's not even the best player on his team, but yes, he's the most valuable on this list. Then throw in the fact that he has a riveting back story and threw the alley-oop of the tournament. Brett who? Yeah, that guy you never heard of last week at this time is on top. Only in March.

Victor Oladipo, Indiana: The best defensive player and main offensive catalyst on the Hoosiers' roster.

Russ Smith, Louisville: If you think this pick is "Russdiculous," watch the Cardinals play. They're nothing without his take-over ability.

Ramon Galloway, La Salle: The best guard on a dangerous backcourt averages 17.4 points a night after transferring from South Carolina.

Aaron Craft, Ohio State: Possibly the best defensive guard in the country, floor general for Buckeyes. Remember this buzzer-beater?

Vander Blue, Marquette: Speaking of buzzer-beaters...Golden Eagles' best player had 29 points in win over Butler.

* No. 1 Louisville vs. No. 12 Oregon | 7:15 p.m., CBS: Oregon has clearly played far beyond its No. 12 seed. Nevertheless, if Louisville is truly the best team in this tournament it should take the Ducks out of this one early before moving on to play the winner of Duke-Michigan State in the Midwest Regional final.

*** No. 3 Florida vs. No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast | 9:57 p.m., TBS: Dunk City meets the strongest program in the Sunshine State. Florida Gulf Coast has already made waves; imagine what a victory over the big-time Gators would do for its credibility. The overwhelming majority of fans in the other 49 states will be pulling hard for FGCU.

*** No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 2 Duke | 9:45 p.m., CBS: Duke has lost only one game all season with forward Ryan Kelly in the lineup. Michigan State rediscovered its identity during a 70-48 win over Memphis in the round of 23. Izzo and Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils and the Spartans. It doesn't get much better than that.

*** No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 4 Michigan | 7:37 p.m., TBS: The Michigan team that showed up a 78-53 win over Virginia Commonwealth can beat anyone. The Kansas team that slogged through an opening-round win over Western Kentucky and the first half of its victory over UNC won't move on to the regional final. Then again, the Kansas team from the second half against the Tar Heels might just win the whole thing.

Kickin' it old school: The vintage clip of the day goes to...Keith Smart (1987).